Having a new pope is now old news. Sort of. Except, of course, in the Catholic press and media, the papacy is always important. However, in the secular world, the news of Pope Leo XIV has been pretty much pushed off the pages of news by other things.
For us Catholics, especially those of us in Illinois, we are still feeling pretty pumped up about having a pope that comes from our area and speaks Cubs and Sox, pizza and Chicago Style hot dogs.
During the days leading up to the election of Pope Leo XIV there was much speculation about who it would be, what he would be like and the kind of pope the world should have. And the standard answer to those who would question Catholic leaders was that the selection of the 267th pope and 266th successor to St. Peter would be “up to the Holy Spirit.”
Not that my opinion carries much weight, but I think the Holy Spirit did an excellent job. I especially like that the Spirit outsmarted so many prognosticators … again.
It seems that the Holy Spirit does that a lot — outsmarts us; shocks and surprises us; turns us in directions we didn’t know we needed to go; making the impossible possible and paving new paths we never considered.
There are times we put too much before the Holy Spirit and yet even more times when we just need to let go and let God figure things out. We forget we can’t do it all and we can’t accomplish great things alone. We forget to push “pause” and reach out in faith and ask for help and guidance.
And there are other times when we think we are the ones to hurry the Holy Spirit along. We humans sometimes just need to pray and get out of the way. And we need to recognize when the Holy Spirit is responsible for something in our lives and give Him the credit He deserves.
The election of Pope Leo got me thinking about the heavy lifting the Holy Spirit is responsible for. Catholics know and appreciate the place the Holy Spirit plays in the Trinity. But do we think often enough about the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit? While those distinctions may confuse some, it is important to understand them.
From the great Holy Spirit we receive wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These gifts are seen as ways the Holy Spirit empowers and transforms individuals. We all can name folks that possess these gifts and probably even more that don’t. But these are the beautiful gifts we seek.
And then there are the fruits. The Cathechism of the Catholic Church teaches
us that the fruits of the Spirit are “perfections
that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory.” The tradition of the Church lists 12 of them: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity.”
After reflecting on these gifts and fruits in the days after the white smoke cleared, I thought how fortunate the world has been in my little lifetime to have wonderful men emerge from the Sistine Chapel, after having been selected, elected and given their yes to God, as living, breathing illustrations to the world of the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. Of course I am referring to St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis and now Leo.
The election of our first American pope gives us a lot to reflect upon not because he is an American, but because he comes to us again, from the Holy Spirit on the eve of our Pentecost. That first Pentecost was a time when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and set the course for the mission of the Church. I think it’s more than a coincidence that we have a new pope whose first words to us were peace.
I am confident that Pope Leo, guided by the spirit of Pentecost, will teach us once again — like the Apostles were taught — that we need a new direction, each other and unity.
I pray that we all listen to and hear our new pontiff and trust the gifts and fruits given to him and us.
